The dark little tale of Ellie McGonagall
by Unicorn of death
Summary: There's a reason that Ellie was never mentioned in Harry's cute little story of friendship and love... Rated T for Terrible swearing, various upsetting themes, and my poor command of the English language.
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings**: I'm a teenage fangirl with a fondness for boy x boy pairings and swearwords. Therefore, this fanfiction won't be for the faint hearted. Or even the not-so-faint-hearted. Also, I'll probably sneak in some references to amazingly awesome things that nobody else knows of. Keep an eye out.

**Disclaimer**: I think we all know who owns the concept, and the characters. In any case, IT AIN'T ME.

xxx

What... what is this? Unicorn of death is writing another fanfic and... it _isn't _Kingdom Hearts? Don't piss your pants, people. I'll still be continuing with "My sister talks to fire and my brother is gay" and "A million munny", but I was very nearly getting... _tired of AkuRoku_? Shocking, I know. So I decided to write the story I've been planning in my head for months. ENJOY :D

xxx

**The dark little tale of Ellie McGonagall**

**Prologue**

When I was in Year Six of primary school, I received the best letter ever. I kept it, always. It was treasure. It never left my bedside table, even when I was rampaging through my bedroom after _another _day of anger and misery.

You all think I'm talking about my Hogwarts letter, don't you?

I mean, don't get me wrong, finding out I was a witch was okay. But it was _nothing_ – absolutely nothing at all – compared to the moment when I saw my big brother's handwriting, telling me that he was okay, and he was coming home.

I kept that letter, not because it had any important details in it, not even a date when he'd arrive home, but because of the last few sentences.

"I hope my little Elliephant is holding up okay. No, I don't hope – I know. You're a strong kid, Ellie, and I want you to remember that, always. Promise me that? See you soon, smelly – Keith."

Everything I did after that letter was to live up to my brother's idea of me. I was a strong kid. ...Right?

Of course, I got other letters from Keith. But they were few and far between, too short and too cold, like he was trying too hard to write the things that should've come naturally to him. The one in which he told me he was coming home was so much better. And the day he arrived home was so sweet that thinking about it gives me toothache. He swung me in a circle – he was always way bigger than me – and told me I looked _so grown up_, and said everything a big brother should say. A week later, the other letter arrived, my Hogwarts letter.

Keith cried and told me that he didn't want me to go to a boarding school, that they wouldn't be able to look after me, they wouldn't _understand _me, and that I should stay at home.

But my mum was _delighted_. Sending the problem child up to the north of England for an entire year, to learn things that would make her much more helpful around the house? Yes, please! Keith was shouted down – and that took a lot of shouting – and I was taken to London to buy the very cheapest equipment we could find. I accepted it all with the tired resignation of someone three times my age, so used to horribly sharp changes in my life by now, and followed my "mother" around Diagon Alley with my head bowed meekly, not daring to ask if I could pretty please have a cat to look after me if I couldn't make any friends.

The very last shop we went into was Madam Malkin's, because the one thing my mum always refused to go cheap on was clothes. Maybe that was because she didn't want me to look neglected, even if it was blatantly obvious in every other way. And I'm glad we went to Madam Malkin's last, because if we hadn't, we might not have met Christian.

But I suppose you don't want to hear about an eleven year old girl stammering her own name to an equally nervous little wizard boy before stumbling out of the door with her cheeks tinged bright pink, so I'll stop blathering on for now, and maybe later on I'll tell you about my _actual_ love interest in this dark little tale.

xxx

So, what do you guys think? Honestly, out of ten, what would you give it?

Oh. Okay. Think about "My Immortal". NOW, what would you give it out of ten?

I would really really appreciate reviews. I don't care whether they're praise, flames, or constructive criticism. This is the first Harry Potter fic I've ever written, and I want to know how good it is. Thank you, and have a nice evening.


	2. Chapter 2

**Warnings**: I'm a teenage fangirl with a fondness for boy x boy pairings and swearwords. Therefore, this fanfiction won't be for the faint hearted. Or even the not-so-faint-hearted. Also, I'll probably sneak in some references to amazingly awesome things that nobody else knows of. Keep an eye out.

**Disclaimer**: I think we all know who owns the concept, and the characters. In any case, IT AIN'T ME.

xxx

So y'all are probably wondering why I haven't updated in ages.

The truth is... I haven't had time. My mum keeps my laptop under lock and key after about nine o'clock every night, and I normally only get my hands on it at around eight. So there have been problems with updating. If it makes you feel any better, my Kingdom Hearts fanfictions have suffered just as much. (Why that would make you feel better I don't know. But I hope it does.)

xxx

**The dark little tale of Ellie McGonagall**

**Chapter One – The Hogwarts Express**

Perhaps the title is a little misleading. The story doesn't start _on_ the Hogwarts Express. It starts just outside of it, with me saying goodbye to my mother with my jaw clenched and my fists curled, wanting desperately to get on the train already, because I _knew_ I wasn't going to be able to make any friends, and I didn't want to stand here getting my own hopes up just to be rejected by all the other little witches and wizards.

Keith wasn't there. He was at home, pacing back and forth and battling the urge to rush to London and see me off. On the one hand, he wasn't going to see me until Christmas at the very soonest. On the other, he probably wouldn't have let me get on the train. After all, I was his little sister. I was his light, his reason for living – or so he told me. He wouldn't have been able to stand back and be noble. He would have grabbed my arm and begged me not to go.

The trouble was, I was always awful at making friends. I was very small, with long caramel hair hanging over my face and light freckles across the bridge of my nose. I wasn't ugly and I wasn't beautiful, and I probably would have got on okay if not for my inability to keep my thoughts to myself. And I mean that in more ways than one.

Finally, though, my mum stopped belittling me and let me board the Hogwarts Express. I couldn't keep my eyes from roving from wizard family to wizard family, and more than once my gaze stopped on a whole gaggle of redheads who were constantly being hugged by their mother. The envy I felt right at that moment was so bitter I had to turn away, my eyes seeking out Christian, who was the only person I actually knew here.

"Ellie!" Oh, thank _God_. "Ellie, it's me, Christian!"

I grinned at him, more because I was glad to see a familiar face than because I actually gave a crap about him, and followed him into an empty compartment. He didn't seem phased by the fact that his trunk was bigger than him, heavier than him and less scruffy than him. For a moment we just sat and looked at each other, and then, "Oh my God, I cannot wait –"

"Me neither, I heard you get to ride Hippogriffs –"

"What's a Hippogriff?"

"Oh, right, you wouldn't know. See, my friend's big sister is a witch, she just finished her seventh year, and she says Hippogriffs are crosses between horses and birds –"

"Whoa! So do you already know loads about the wizarding world from your friend's sister?" I leaned forwards to listen to him, starting to feel slightly nervous. What if everyone knew way more than me? What if I was bottom of the class? What if...

"Nah, not really. I've heard a bit about Hogwarts, but I couldn't even turn a shoelace purple. Not that I ever _tried_ or anything..." He looked so embarrassed that I wanted to make him feel better. Normally, when people look embarrassed, I just want them to get a grip.

"Don't worry about it. Once, before I even knew I was a witch, I melted my brother's Xbox because he was winding me up. He wasn't best pleased, as you can imagine..."

Christian's laugh echoed around the compartment a little, just enough to remind us that we were alone, that all we had was each other.

"You should've seen me when my brother was being picked on. I marched right over there and I told them, "Leave him alone!" And they didn't. So, somehow, and to this day I swear I didn't mean to do it, the three girls who were bullying him ended up locked inside the girls' bathroom for four hours." I clamped a hand over my mouth in an attempt not to giggle like a mindless idiot. Most people hate my laugh. They've never said it to my face, but I know.

Trust me. I _always _know what people think of me.

After about an hour of swapping stories about accidental magic, the door slid open and a big girl about our age who made Katy Perry look ugly as hell by comparison stood in our doorway, smiling sweetly. "Have you got room in here for me? Everywhere else is full, and the boys in the section of the train I just came from are kind of scary."

"Sure, come on in," I told her, shuffling closer to the window and pulling my trunk with me so that she would have space to put her luggage. "What's your name?"

"Minnie Cross. What about you two?"

Minnie didn't really suit her. With her dark, wavy hair and enormous brown eyes, she looked more like a Hannah, or maybe a Rebecca. Still, it was better than "Ellie", which got me more than my fair share of nicknames throughout primary school. Hopefully Hogwarts students would be slightly more mature.

"I'm Christian Lawrence and that's Ellie... what's your last name again?" asked Christian, turning from Minnie to me as he spoke.

"McGonagall. I'm Ellie McGonagall."

Minnie dropped the wand she had just pulled from her pocket. It was longer than mine. Did that mean she had more talent or something? I knew mine was relatively short, nine and a quarter inches and relatively springy. Maybe wand length was based on skill or intelligence or something.

"McGonagall? You mean you're related to the deputy head?"

I blinked. "I... what?"

Christian sighed like I was being stupid on purpose. I did my best to stay out of his head. "It was on your letter, Ellie. Didn't you read it?"

"Of course I read it," I snapped. In truth, I didn't quite finish reading it because Keith was reading over my shoulder, and being a faster reader than I was, he finished first. He then burst into tears and, well, you know. Begged me not to go because he was worried about me. "Sorry if I can't remember every single tiny detail."

"Professor McGonagall is the deputy head, and she's also the head of Gryffindor house. I bet you're related to her somehow, it's not exactly a common name, is it?"

"Wait... what's Gryffindor?"

Minnie and Christian both sighed in unison and I realised suddenly how very little I knew about the entire wizarding world.

And for the first and last time, I wanted to go back home.

xxx

Whew... that was tough.

I'm seriously sorry about not updating sooner. If anyone is actually kind enough, mad enough or bored enough to read this pile of crap, I greatly appreciate it, and it you feel like dropping in a review, even better. Reviews encourage me to write more because, as you may have noticed, my self-esteem is normally lying in a gooey puddle on the floor, and I'm always convinced that my writing is awful.

Thank you and good night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Warnings**: I'm a teenage fangirl with a fondness for boy x boy pairings and swearwords. Therefore, this fanfiction won't be for the faint hearted. Or even the not-so-faint-hearted. Also, I'll probably sneak in some references to amazingly awesome things that nobody else knows of. Keep an eye out.

**Disclaimer**: I think we all know who owns the concept, and the characters. In any case, IT AIN'T ME.

xxx

What... what's going on?

I'm updating... relatively soon after the last chapter?

What is this madness?

I just need to keep myself busy is all. I'll tell you a secret that all my fans who only read the KH fics won't know: I have problems with myself. You know, self-esteem and disordered eating mindsets and all that fun stuff. Lol jk; it isn't fun. Don't do it. And if you ever wanna talk about it, feel free to PM me.

xxx

**The dark little tale of Ellie McGonagall**

**Chapter Two – The stuff I should have already known**

It took a while, but Christian and Minnie filled me in on most of the basics: the four houses, the subjects you were taught, everything they had heard about the teachers, you know. And then Christian brought up the subject of Harry Potter.

"He's in fifth year now, isn't he?" Minnie asked while trying to plait her gorgeous brown hair.

"So he'll be taking his... OWLs?" Please let that be right. I'm sick of Minnie thinking I'm thick.

Maybe now would be a good time to explain that since I was about eight, I've been able to listen to other people's thoughts. Not all of them, not all the time, but the surface layer of what they were thinking – like "Ew, look at her thighs" or "I wish I were at home" or "Why hasn't he texted back yet?". I could sense their emotions when I wanted to. I soon realised, however, that this was not normal even by the standards of untrained witches and wizards. As such, I kept quiet about it.

"Yeah." _Aw, she's really trying_, I heard Christian thinking. Clearly he liked me more than Minnie did. "They all think he's mental, but I reckon he's telling the truth. And I admire him for it."

"Is he in Gryffindor?" Having heard stories about my no-bullshit maybe-relative, Professor McGonagall, I was desperate to end up in Gryffindor. Bravery was not something I lacked, I knew that. I could face up to anyone.

Except sometimes myself.

"Yeah, he is. But stop obsessing over it." Minnie gave me a genuine smile. "The Sorting Hat puts you where you belong. No matter which house it sorts you into, you'll be happy there."

"My friend's sister is a Hufflepuff. They get a lot of abuse from the others, but they're loyal and hard-working." Christian took out a Chocolate Frog. I had refused to try one on the grounds that I didn't like eating things that moved, but he crammed it down like it was a Redvine or something.

"Don't believe any of the stereotypes, that's what my mum told me." Minnie gave up on plaiting her hair and fell to brushing it instead. "Not all Ravenclaws are nerdy, not all Hufflepuffs are boring, not all Slytherins are evil and not all Gryffindors are badass."

I nodded. _I hope I'm in the same house as both of these two, though_, Minnie thought as she struggled with a slight knot. _Ellie seems so sweet, and Christian's pretty cute_.

I wasn't used to having people think nice things about me. It was a bit disconcerting.

The compartment door slid open. Framed by it were three boys, already in their robes and one wearing what I had been told was a Prefect badge. (Even in schools of magic, I couldn't escape the hierarchy. Of course at that point I didn't know what a hierarchy was, but I knew I didn't like the whole system of some people holding authority over others.) The Prefect was blonde and miniscule compared to his two sidekicks, who looked like the lovechildren of trolls and gargoyles.

"Ooh, first years," said the blonde one. It was harder to read his thoughts than it was to read most. His mind was clouded with thoughts of Harry Potter, stirred in with envy and a craving for his father's approval. The thinnest, topmost layer was a desire to hurt Christian, Minnie and I, but it wasn't strong, and it was more a consequence of the way he was raised than anything else. We were just meat to him; emotional punching bags. "Got any food?"

"No, sorry," I said. Minnie and Christian looked at me like I was nuts. Well, _I_ didn't have any food. I didn't really want any.

"Tsk, tsk. What's that I see on your lap?" He scooped up the purple leather-bound notebook and opened it. "Oh, _I_ see, it's a diary! How lovely." He put on a high-pitched voice to read out an entry. I tried not to look phased. "Today I want to think about the first time I ever hurt myself. I was all alone in my bedroom –"

"Not that one!" I snatched the book from him, flicked the pages desperately, and then thrust it back into his hands. "You can read that one though."

That one was just an entry about Keith coming home. Hopefully he would get bored of the sentimental preteen bullshit and leave.

"My brother is finally coming home. After months of pacing the house, worried sick about him and the fate he must be facing, after refusing meal after meal simply because I was too afraid for my brother to force down food, all of that will be gone soon. Keith is arriving really soon, and then I'll be whole again." The blonde Prefect sounded like he had his wand up his arse. But I could see into his head, and he actually wanted to keep reading. To learn about my brother. "I was so close to leaving... but now he's coming back and he's going to save me."

"That's Ellie's and it's private!" objected Minnie, staring Prefect boy straight in the blue-grey eyes. He crossed over to her side of the carriage and bent down so as to talk to her properly.

"I'm a Prefect here. I can make your life very easy or very difficult, depending on which house you're in and how much respect you show me." He straightened up and turned to face me again. I noticed how he completely blanked Christian. "You seem decent, kid. Unlike the people you chose to hang out with. What's your name?"

"I'm Ellie. Ellie McGonagall." I held out a hand for him to shake, not really expecting him to take him. But he did.

"I'm Draco. Draco Malfoy. Hope to see you in Slytherin." I wouldn't mind Slytherin, actually. The Slytherin Prefects were cute, at least. "My friends and I are going to extort food out of more fortunate first-years. See you around."

And then he and his two ugly friends were gone, leaving Christian to think about how horrible the three of them were and Minnie to hope, both inwardly and out loud, that she wouldn't be put into Slytherin.

Me, I was keeping an open mind about it. Sure, I may or may not have been related to the leader of Gryffindor house. But if she was a decent person, she would accept me no matter which house I landed in, because apart from anything else it wasn't really my fault.

Hey, I just accepted that something wasn't my own fault.

That's what Keith would call progress.

xxx

Just a quick one for you guys today. Hope you liked it.

Please review. Like I said, it keeps me out of trouble, writing fanfiction and reading positive (or even negative) reviews of it. I'd really love to know what y'all think, especially since my style is normally more comedy than this dark stuff.

Keep calm and eat gingerbread.


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